Health Insurance sign-up deadline extended for some

(WZZM/USA TODAY) - The deadline to sign up for health insurance coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act is changing, but only for certain people.

The deadline to buy health insurance through the marketplace is Monday, March 31st. While the president will not extend the deadline, he is giving people who start the signup process by Monday more flexibility to finish.

"We are experiencing a surge in demand and are making sure that we will be ready to help consumers who may be in line by the deadline to complete enrollment—either online or over the phone," said Julie Bataille, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokeswoman.

That means if you get stuck trying to figure out what coverage you need, you will now have extra time to get it done. That health coverage would take effect May first.

When the website, HealthCare.gov, was overwhelmed by people trying to enroll in late December to gain health coverage by Jan. 1, the administration enacted a similar stretch of the deadline for those who tried to enroll but did not make the deadline.

This time, officials said they would loosen the deadline for those with "complex or extenuating" circumstances that keep them from fully enrolling by March 31, the last day of open enrollment, and the last day to buy health insurance to avoid paying a fine with 2014 taxes.

More than five million people have signed up through the health care exchanges. That's according to government information released in the beginning of March.

If you do not have health insurance this year, you will face a penalty.

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